The good news is that our skin is more sensitive to erotic caresses than we think. Moreover, some zones “wake up” only under certain conditions.
«All our skin is one big sexual organ.”, says Finnish psychologist Lauri Nummenmaa. In past research, Nummenmaa and her colleagues have tried to understand where our emotions “live” – which parts of the body we associate fear, sadness or anger with. Now they decided to map all the possible erogenous zones and found that almost any part of the body can be attributed to them.
The researchers showed images of naked men and women to 704 volunteers and asked them to mark the areas that are aroused when touched – on themselves, on their partner, while masturbating or making love. If a spot was particularly sensitive, participants could emphasize it by swiping their finger over it several times.1.
When the researchers brought all the data into a single body diagram, it turned out that there were almost no unmarked places.. Most often, participants chose traditional erogenous zones, such as the genitals, breasts, buttocks, anus, thighs, neck, and mouth (they were marked in the diagram with the brightest color). But, one way or another, every centimeter of the skin received its share of attention — except, perhaps, male shins.
“The brain reduces the sensitivity of the skin to touch if we touch ourselves”
Another important conclusion of psychologists: during sex with a partner, the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXberogenous zones is larger than during masturbation. For example, in women, it can be not only the nipples, but the entire breast as a whole. Researchers attribute this to the fact that the brain reduces the sensitivity of the skin to touch if we touch ourselves. “The same mechanism is at work here that prevents us from tickling ourselves,” explains Lauri Nummenmaa.
But the discoveries don’t end there. The data, compared with the results of surveys of participants, showed: erogenous zones were on average larger in those who admitted that they often think about sex. This suggests a direct connection between the power of attraction and the sexual sensitivity of the body. But what is the nature of this connection?
There may be two options here. First, when we want to have sex, all the receptors on the skin are on alert. In this mode, the sensations change: for example, touch, from which we usually tickle, cause pleasure. Another explanation: for some, the skin is hypersensitive and any touch on it is felt more acutely.
Of course, this does not mean that each of us is endowed with all the wealth of possible “hot spots”. We are different. Everyone has their own unique bodily landscape, says Lauri Nummenmaa. The more interesting it is to explore it.
1 Archives of Sexual Behaviour, 2016, vol. 45.